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Author Mary Gill
 
Photo by Queen's High School

Visiting Author Maria Gill spoke to the Year 9 students about writing people's stories.

Helen Lowther —

Last week, Year 9 students were lucky to have a break from exams and listen to visiting author Maria Gill. She spoke about the long, meticulous process she undertakes when researching and writing a non-fiction book and the importance of telling people’s stories. The Year 9's have been studying the Suffrage Movement of the 1800's so Maria dressed as Kate Sheppard, which helped to bring this topic to life. Maria brought a book that she wrote about Kate Sheppard and a group of Year 9's acted out a reader’s Theatre Script that re-enacted Kate’s struggle to achieve women’s right to vote. The presentation was funded by The New Zealand Book Council – Writers in Schools Programme.